What better way to cool off in the summer with a horror story that ought to send chills down your spine? The cast travels down memory lane when they relive their school glory days in search for their destined match. But beware of looking too far back into your memories—you may just find that not everything is what it seems…

EPISODE 155. Broadcast on July 21, 2013.

Welcome back to Running Man High where our group of super seniors—er, our cast—takes their seats in the classroom. The boys have fun with their role-play like how Jong-kook looks so natural sitting in the back and how class president Kwang-soo is the pet giraffe.

Then Haha wonders why mat-hyung Suk-jin is the same age as their teacher. Suk-jin: “That guy is a year younger than me!” Ha.

Why am I not surprised that transfer student Ji-hyo has an infamous reputation as—what else?—the school jjang aka the best fighter in school? Kwang-soo is still the butt of the students’ jokes in this pseudo-world as he easily falls for the classic pull-out-chair prank.

There’s still one more empty seat, which is taken by a familiar face: Suzy (Gu Family Book). The boys literally bolt up with excitement, and Kwang-soo calls out: “We know who you are! We saw you kiss Lee Seung-gi!”

Their teacher, Maknae FD, instructs the boys to settle down already, and he introduces today’s Graduation Race. The set-up: our cast of students will face-off to win a pair of sneakers though a variety of in-class games. The first team to cross the finish line wearing all of them will be today’s victors.

Ha, I love how Ji-hyo’s question about the rules throws Maknae FD off for a second before he announces today’s teams. Both Jong-kook and Jae-suk immediately complain about being teamed up with the Class Yapper, and Haha cries, “And I’m stuck between them!”

The students head outside for their first class, where all the physics jargon basically boils down to: kick your shoe into your cubby.

It’s not long before Jong-kook and Jae-suk start bickering about just about everything from Suzy’s name to how Jae-suk should kick his shoe. Jae-suk bites back: “Be quiet before I kick my shoe into your mouth!” Jong-kook: “You can graduate at the hospital.”

When it’s Kwang-soo’s turn, it really does look like he’s aiming for Jong-kook, who actually looks a little… scared (?) about the oncoming attack. They run with the joke as Kwang-soo instructs everyone apart from Jong-kook to duck so that he can aim better.

… Then he kicks Jong-kook in the knee. Jong-kook immediately retaliates, and calls out: “Turn the cameras off!”

Sigh, can we please axe this faux-frenemies-but-we’re-really-best-buds running joke already? Aren’t you both sick of it? I’M sick of it.

To everyone’s surprise Suk-jin is the first one to successfully kick his shoe into his cubby. Gary is nearly successful, but his shoe pops right out again. The boys give Ji-hyo a little grief when her shoe lands in Suk-jin’s cubby, all, So it was Suk-jin all along, eh?

Given Jong-kook’s soccer skills (or lack thereof), I’m not surprised his shoe goes flying either. What cracks me up is Suzy’s loud disapproval and the subsequent “Suzy and I are our own team!” spat from her teammates.

The third time’s the charm for Gary, who finally kicks his shoe into the cubby and wins the first game for his team.

It’s time for gym class where it’s a classic arm wrestling showdown. The boys hilariously Jong-kook’s guns (with Rocky music playing in the background, heh) for what seems like an obvious oncoming Spartakooks all-kill onslaught.

Haha: “It’s like he’s got a thigh attached to his arm!” Ha, I’ll take that to mean that the man’s got enormous biceps.

Surprisingly, Suk-jin and Ji-hyo a fair job of standing their ground against Jong-kook and Suzy, though it makes me wonder if it’s more like Ji-hyo who’s pulling most of the weight. Jong-kook isn’t even breakin’ a sweat and he encourages the pair to work together… before he overtakes them.

The Monday Couple is up next, and this time, it actually looks like Jong-kook is struggling a bit. However, he manages to send them away, too, and Gary gasps: “Suzy didn’t have to do a thing!”

Before their last teammate steps up, Gary comments: “It’s like Suzy has the 63 Building behind her.” (The 63 Building is one of Seoul’s trademark skyscrapers that is 63 stories tall.)

Ji-hyo gets riled up about a possible penalty on Jong-kook’s part before the final round. Then I’m actually impressed at Kwang-soo’s stamina up against Jong-kook. That is, until he starts jokingly hitting Jong-kook. I… can’t even.

Jong-kook wins against them anyway, and Ji-hyo comments, “This isn’t right…” But then we get a scary preview to the episode’s latter half where she whimpers, “I’m so scared…” Eek.

We skip ahead to the final class—a nametag rippin’ race where the teams will have to hunt down each other’s personal belongings scattered throughout the school. Only when they find someone else’s belongings can they eliminate them. Simple enough!

The cast starts to search the school, and we see Kwang-soo keep a mysterious close eye on Suzy. Then a flashback teaches us that he stuffed his item beneath one of the hollow busts on the top shelf.

To his relief, Suzy moves on. But a minute later, Jong-kook realizes that that could be an amazing hiding place, so he rushes back into the room with the busts. Seriously, you’re speedy deduction skills even surprises me sometimes.

It’s a nervous moment since Kwang-soo can only watch as Jong-kook checks under each bust… and eventually finds it. Time to run.

Kwang-soo is eliminated easily in the next minute, and the cast continues their search. Ji-hyo discovers Jong-kook’s hidden item, which forces him to take cover. The Monday Couple manages to sneak through a door and take on Jong-kook.

They engage in a four-way scuffle in the classroom as Haha tries to hunt down Gary’s item in the hallway. Suzy isn’t much of a match for Ji-hyo, who softly sends her aside with an apology. But in the end, Gary tears off Jong-kook’s nametag.

Whaddaya know—Haha discovers Gary’s item a minute later. Ji-hyo tries to call out a warning, but it’s too late and Gary is forced to run. Then it’s another tense few seconds before Haha catches up to him and eliminates him. And what? That’s it?

We must have edited out the other eliminations because the cast gathers together again for their “graduation.” Suk-jin: “I’m finally graduating after 20 years!” Ha.

They’re instructed to each choose a room key and then place them in an envelope. Then they place those into a mysterious time-capsule-like mailbox to be delivered to their future selves.

With a final class picture, the students move on with their lives…

Five years later. The classmates greet each other at an university late at night. After a few polite greetings (Haha: “I hear your kid grew up a lot!” Suk-jin: “He’s in army now!”), Jo PD explains that they’ll separate into their respective rooms.

Ha, I just noticed this now, but is everyone wearing pink? Cute.

Once everyone is in their rooms, they read the secretive note (read: mission card) tucked in their nostalgic envelopes. They blush to read that two of them are destined soulmates.

In order to find their special someone, they’ll need to choose one item (out of several) and test it out in front of a mysterious mirror. But beware—you must choose the correct item to know if you’re correct or not.

After they all grab an item, the cast sets off in search for each other. Gary immediately gets jealous when he catches Ji-hyo look for Haha. He explains: “The ‘flower boy’ [Gary’s room] and ‘young girl’ [hers] are supposed to be together.” She gives him an “As if…” look. Hahaha.

It cracks me up that Jong-kook uses that same logic on Suzy, saying that the model student should be with the pretty girl at school. Ha. I love that Kwang-soo immediately calls him out on it, all, Then why can’t she be with me, the student council member!

Meanwhile, Haha and Ji-hyo break off on their own and discover one of the mysterious mirrors. Holding a pencil, they ask if they’re destined for each other. A sharp blast of air tells them no.

The cast quickly finds out that not every mirror they come across is helpful since some of them are broken. But they’ve got bigger issues on their hands as they try to figure out who would best be paired with whom.

It’s all confusing as they consult with each other in the hallway. Is the model student and the dunce meant to be? Or a young lady and the model student?

Interestingly, Suzy tries to hint at some of the members to try their luck with her. Only that raises more suspicion about why she seems so eager. Why yes… is there something that we don’t know?

But then again, it’s kinda cute how she’s so forthright about it: “Do you wanna come with me?” When Jae-suk readily agrees, his dongsaengs are up in arms about how he wouldn’t come with them. Aww.

Jae-suk and Suzy sit in front of another mirror to ask if they’re fated… and then creepy red letters read: “You two…” They hold their breaths..

“… are not meant to be.” Aww, so close. Jae-suk wonders why the message would be written in blood, but the mirror has even more to say: “If three or more gather together, someone will die.” Eeeeeek.

Ironically enough, the Deathly Mirror allows them to ask one Yes or No question. Jae-suk asks: “If there are three of us, will either Suzy or myself be eliminated?” Answer: No.

Ah, so this means that whenever they’re together, the third person who joins them will be eliminated. In other words, as long as they stick together, they’re exempt from elimination.

This rule is announced through the speakers, and now this game just got a lot creepier. Everyone is on edge, and when Jae-suk calls out to Haha and Kwang-soo (who are hilariously optimistic about the situation: “We have a shot at winning today!”), they make a run for it.

He manages to pull Kwang-soo aside, and is surprisingly honest about what happened in front of the mirror. It’s good news for Jae-suk, but yunno, not so good news for Kwang-soo if Suzy shows up.

The others try their best to avoid the no “three or more” rule, and both Haha and Jong-kook run up the stairwell when Suzy shows up. It’s actually pretty funny watching everyone disperse, then merge together, and then scatter away again.

Elsewhere, Haha and Jong-kook stand in front of another mirror and ask the same question. The same eerie, blood-curling letters appear with a new rule: “If someone looks behind them, they will die.”

Just like before, the mirror grants them a question, so they ask if the rule applies to either of them. Answer: No.

Phew, they can look behind themselves without fear of death. They immediately test it out (hehe) and resolve to prank the others to fall for the trick. Ha, maybe you two are the ones who are evil.

With a clap of thunder, the new rule is announced. At once, Jae-suk takes it out on his poor VJ. And then we see Ji-hyo curled up in fear just like in the preview. “Is it a horror special?”

I imagine that there are more rules to come, but I do like how these specific rules serve to spice up the classic game, and therefore force the cast to think on their feet. As for the cutesy stuff, well I think that’s long gone now.

Watching Suk-jin paralyzed by this new rule is an absolute hoot. He robot-walks his way around, and Jae-suk has to be the one to say: “…You can just walk straight.” Hee.

Elsewhere, the ladies realize that they’re carrying similar items, so they set off in search for a mirror. But it’s the Easy Brothers who comes upon one first. Is that… a box neck brace?

They ask, more freaky letters appear… and new rule is introduced: If someone shouts, they will die. Then they ask the same question (“Is it one of us?”), and yell in celebration when the answer is no. Hm, so are the ones who discover the new rule exempt from it?

Everyone is alerted, and at the noise, Haha asks, “Isn’t that Kwang-soo’s voice?” So maybe it’s not such a good idea to let the world know that you’re immune to this rule.

Then the Easy Brothers find yet another mirror with new items. That only establishes yet another rule: If someone becomes unattractive, they will die. Kwang-soo gapes: “What about Gary?!”

Caption: Is it a time to worry about other people right now…? But the mirror assures them that they’re safe.

I love that this new “become unattractive” rule gets either amused or offensive laughter out of the cast. Looking at Jae-suk, Jong-kook says, “Well, this only applies to you…” Ha.

Jong-kook points out that Jae-suk does look remarkably unattractive sans glasses. He encourages his hyung to test it out—what’s the worst that can happen? Jae-suk isn’t willing to do so, and tells Jong-kook to look behind him then. They both stand there, bickering again. Haha.

Poor Gary actually thinks that the rule pertains to him (aw), and he asks in a worried tone: “Is it me?”

The Easy Brothers freak out when Suzy approaches them because they know that she’s immune from the “three or more” rule. However, nothing happens when they group together. They quickly deduce that it’s the others who could die, apart from the four of them (including Jae-suk).

Suk-jin walks in just to make sure that they’re all exempt then, but then a clap of thunder interrupts them. A creepy voice reminds them of their grave error, and then Jong-kook is taken away by the grim reapers.

The boys wonder what just happened, but in a corner, Ji-hyo whispers, “Good job, Suzy.” Huh?

We jump back to earlier in the night when the two ladies ran into each other. Sure enough, the mirror had confirmed that they were meant to be. When they returned to their room, they looked through the yearbook.. where their pictures were nowhere to be found.

Then a recording had informed them that they were ghosts. Ah, which explains why Teacher Maknae FD only addressed the boys and tried(?) to ignore Ji-hyo’s question.

If the boys discover their true identities, then they’ll have no choice to be rid of the ghosts. Therefore, it’s their job to eliminate the boys first. Hoo ha ha.

The ghosts flip through the attendance log to learn hints about their targets, like how Jong-kook “likes to hang out with friends.” Which explains why the “three or more” rule worked against him, since the boys were three persons and Suzy is a ghost.

Not only that, Haha is a surprisingly quiet student while Kwang-soo always looks behind him. HA, and Jae-suk is a vain student.

Teehee, Suzy utilizes her long hair to try out her “ghost status” by imitating The Ring.

Elsewhere, Ji-hyo targets Kwang-soo and rips off a part of his nametag to get him to look back. But he whirls around the other way instead. Smart boy.

Then, Suzy sticks with Haha and discovers another rule: “If someone gets wet, then they’ll die.” Ah, and we see that Gary likes rainy days.

Kwang-soo is rightly suspicious and makes a ruckus. The others look up to the source of the noise, which allows Suzy the perfect opportunity to swoop in and grab Jae-suk’s glasses. Too bad he catches her not a moment too soon.

The Monday Couple tries out another mirror. It doesn’t work, but this time they get an interesting response: “Look for a locker.” Uh oh, will this clue work against the ghosts?

They get to work searching through the hundreds of lockers, but will they find the one they need?

Meanwhile, Haha pouts at yet another failed match, and he sends Suzy out to grab another item. She gets an idea and decides to sneak up on him. She jumps… and he screams.

Elsewhere, Ji-hyo still plays dumb, but then she slaps Kwang-soo upside the head, and he instinctively looks back. Aw, and Ji-hyo looks so sorry about it as she apologizes on her knees. “I hit you so hard!”

He screams after her about how he worked so hard not to look back. “I even put on a neck brace!” Oh, so the box brace wasn’t one of your items? HA.

The remaining boys gather together, now free of some of the rules. However, they realize that there aren’t enough rules to go around, and then Jae-suk hits the nail on the head: “The couple found each other.”

Gary and Jae-suk learn the final rule: “Someone will die if both of their feet touch the ground at the same time.”

The ghosts realize that they can just walk as normal… and Suk-jin hilariously misinterprets this rule and hops on one foot. “Find me a chair!” HAHAHA.

Suzy gives chase to capture Jae-suk, but runs into Suk-jin instead. Gary gives her an unknowing helping hand by helping her take on Suk-jin. They eventually get both feet on the ground and eliminate him.

Gary diligently searches through every locker he comes across, and wonders if Ji-hyo has already found the hint. He finds the right one where a yearbook and a sticker is stored.

The sticker is an effective tool against the dead. Gary: “So [the girls] were ghosts this whole time?!” Bingo.

Gary ushers Jae-suk over to show him the yearbook where both girls are oddly missing. Jae-suk gapes in horror: “They were ghosts?!”

I love how the yearbook also houses pictures of previous guests (who are listed as fellow classmates), so Gary quips, “We can speak to them informally the next time we see them.” Ha, I’d like to see you try that on Choi Min-soo.

Then Jae-suk pulls out the same sticker. We see that he acquired it from Haha, who found it in a potted plant. Unfortunately, there weren’t enough clues for Haha to go on, and he handed it off to Jae-suk when he was eliminated.

They run into Suzy, who agrees to meet them… while holding a cup of water in her hands. Eep. The boys know they only have one shot at this and approach Suzy with caution.

Ji-hyo is nowhere to be found, and then water splashes from behind the door. Gary avoids it just in time and Jae-suk rushes forward, the sticker in his hand…

But then Gary is hit with more water just as Ji-hyo removes Jae-suk’s glasses… and becomes unattractive. Ha.

The ghosts jump with excitement at their victory, and their ghouly cackles echo in the hallway, waiting for their next victim…

Love the episode, it was a horror suspense special done right, but that still provided lots of laughs. I burst out laughing so many times during the last game. If only Gary had found the photos without the girls earlier, then it’d have been more two-sided. It was pretty much the girls till the end.

I’m thoroughly sick of Kwang Soo hitting Jong Kook for no reason at all. He did it twice this time and it looked extremely painful both times. And Jong Kook did not even berate him to warrant the attacks. I know they are close off screen, but I thoroughly hate his attacks.

OMG. That back hug of Jong Kook to Ji Hyo. i literally shouted OMG when I saw that. That was erm……………very touchy? And Ji Hyo didnt even seem to try and push him away. And then Ji Hyo going up to Jong Kook at the corridor and they started holding hands ignoring everyone else around them? Sometimes I wonder how close these two are

Ah, when they were still in school. I thought you meant after the ghost story section started. They seem really comfortable together. I think the other members may have also tried to restrain her if she had found their item, but it would have been all aggression. Jong Kook tends to handle her with more care and respect in the heat of a game.

you are right
Yes it was scary, yes the plot was cool however
this episode was deliberately planned in a certain way and the girls were definitely given the upper hand otherwise why is it that the clues that led to discovering the ghosts identity conveniently were only projected in the mirror when almost all the players had been eliminated……..
btw yoo jae suk and gary could have easily won
it felt extremely contrived
hope next episode will be better

I thought I wasn’t going to like this episode, but oddly I found myself enjoying it pretty quickly. RM episodes that have a storyline sometimes fall flat, but this one wasn’t so bad. Overall, I would still watch new RM episodes over 1N2D ones…they need to catch up! Crossing my fingers!

I no longer laugh when LKS is around KJK. You just know what’s going to happen.

A lot of people have been criticising KJK over his commander status due to his recent spate of injuries. But I thought how he immediately figured out the logic behind LKS’ item’s hiding place was absolutely brilliant and showed that his commander status is more than just brawn (exemplified by the all-kill arm wrestling). But this guy has brains as well.

Couple of moments made me LOL, like KJK and Haha immediately turning their heads nonstop when they knew they were immune, LKS worrying about Gary during the ugly curse, JSJ hopping on one foot nonstop. Gary did do an amazing dodge when SJH threw water at him.

Yes, I also always thought KJK-SJH are very comfortable around each other, and this ep solidified it. I wouldnt dare imagine other RM men dare to try that hug on SJH

Another fun episode, though the editing was a bit choppy at parts, and the mini-games didn’t really serve a purpose (also, I’m still curious as to why Suk-jin’s “death” was about keeping his feet on the ground – everyone else got explanations for their weaknesses, right?) Still, I really like these mystery-type-skits since they’re always a nice change of pace, and it’s funny seeing how confused the cast gets while trying to figure everything out.

As for Kwang Soo, honestly I still find his “rivalry” with Jong Kook hilarious, so those scenes don’t bother me at all. In fact, they’re the only reason I managed to get my boyfriend hooked on this show in the first place (this is the ONLY Asian show of mine he’ll watch – and trust me, I’ve tried to get him hooked for years and years).

Overall,it was an ok episode but for me i dont get the spookiness feels that much. Lost in editing maybe. There are few funny moments i must say. Jihyo hits Kwangsoo‘s head cracks me up. Kwangsoo’s reaction is priceless. I love the ‘’3 or more‘’ rule. Loved it how everyone avoiding each other. So noisy…lol Easy brothers are entertaining with their way dealing with the rules. Last but not least, i love the ghost sisters. Jihyo as the more calm unni ghost and Suzy as the crazy and quirky dongseng. Hehe..perfect. Suzy the ghost pretending to be a ghost..lol Adorable. I love the end part where they both walk in the hallway. For some reason it gives me chills.

It wasn’t spooky for me, either, but it was fun to see how spooked they were! The ghost sisters were the bestest. How cool was it that they weren’t in the group pic (I loved how the viewers were let in on the making of how that worked). It made the rest of the episode so much more fun to watch. RM is filler for me, but this is one episode I really liked!

I actually like the themed specials, but this one left me kind of “okay…” at some parts. The episode made me scream a lot (yes, I was scared before I knew the girls were behind it all) and it also made laugh. Still, at some point it felt kind of lacking their typical spark (?).

I think that was because maybe filming wasn’t as great as it should have been for this kind of episode, but still, the editing process did wonders. That’s why I felt satisfied with it and I can say I certainly enjoyed the episode.

The first half of this episode felt really slow, I only started to find it interesting when the curses started, and the part where it was revealed that Suzy and Jihyo are ghosts all along. That really gave me the creep.
It’s funny also how Choi Min So is one of their classmates and I cracked up when Gary said that they can speak to him in banmal next time he’s coming to the show. I’d like to see him try… 😀

Kwang Soo’s surprise at Ji Hyo’s smack was priceless. He was so shocked. He was all “I haven’t turned around in 5 hours!” He can be so funny and goofy without being violent that it makes me even less interested in the long-running schtick he has going with Jong Kook. I wish they would choose to the alter that relationship to a more mature and loveable hyung-donsaeng one. I think that could work well, especially now that Ha Ha has moved away from that role since his marriage (and becoming a father!).

I agree about Jong Kook and Kwang Soo. They seem to have a nice relationship off-screen so I wish they’d let it filter into the show more. I don’t mind some bickering between them if it’s warranted but the constant violence and backstabbing is unnecessary and getting really predictable and tired.

Especially with Jong Kook’s injuries. Let the man heal in peace! I remember Kwang Soo winning the new comer variety award or something like that a couple of years ago and his thank you to Jong Kook was shining with the respect he has for his hyung. The physical stuff doesn’t even have to go away completely, but I would be happy to not see it every episode (or even every other episode).

I usually find horror specials a little too creepy for me but this one was a lot of fun. I always love it when Jihyo gets a chance to team up with other girls to take the guys down like in the Charlie’s Angels special. She’s an ace in her own right so it’s even better when she’s got sufficient back-up.

with the last two episode pretty much boys own stuff with the soccer and the girls put aside as pretty much cheerleaders its nice to see the girl getting their own back even if they had to be ghosts to do so this time around. And that reminds me did Jihyo ever cash in her game card where she won the right to have an episode just for her? Think it was from the win in Hong Kong or China?

That’s what I was thinking – when will Ji Hyo get her special episode? I hope it’s a good one filled with handsome young men to give her the attention she doesn’t regularly get from the guys on the show. Remember the New Year’s special when she had Siwon and Minho as her partners and just ate up all the attention and care they dished out?

Love this episode! First half was a bit slow but the second half definitely picked up the pace. It was nice seeing Ji-hyo team up with a girl, especially with Suzy who got really into the games.

And can I just say Suzy looks gorgeous with her new hair? She looks so much more mature compared to a few weeks ago when she was on Gu Family Book (not that she didn’t look pretty there as well, but it’s nice to see her looks maturing).

haha ok it was so obviously staged that i shouldn’t have felt spooked, but I must have a low threshold for being creeped out. I was feeling scared one moment, and then the next I was bawling in laughter when the next death threat was for being ugly. I enjoyed this episode more than I expected to (not usually thrilled for their find your destined match type of themes).

After watching so many games and setups from RM, I thought the idea of this episode did something interesting. The idea of isolating pairs from each other itself is a good way to make them come up with new strategies.

When she got scared because of a bug in episode 147, Suk Jin said “She isn’t scared of anyone yet she is scared of bugs”
The same in episode 121 when she had to catch keys in a tank full of eels (?), she said she has some kind of phobia.
I guess even the Ace is human lol.

This episode was truly fun! I went in for Suzy (girl is gorgeous and pretty funny at times too) but ended up really liking the episode. The mini games at the front didn’t make sense but the second part of the episode was really fun to watch considering we don’t usually get the girls teaming up!

Yay! It feels like Running Man is picking up again. The last 3 episodes have been sheer awesomeness. It was a bit tried and tested there for a while. But this horror special felt like the writer & PD really gave their care & attention to the scripting & organisation of the episode as a whole. Never a dull moment!

As much as I want to like these ep I dont think I will the concept is great but its alot going on at the same time its boring too not alot of action at shd runningman i like I wish they would do the cat and mouse game as ep 13 before

However the highlight for me is when jihyo hit kwangsoo so sudden that giraffe seems frozen hahaha that was jang jihyo ia learning bout timing the problem is she seems so regretful she shd just go with the flow as bad nuna that incident is funny I knw that Suzy is one of the ghost obviously

I really loved the episode. I laughed so much that I thought I was going to die lol. Oh gosh’, how much I love Running Man cast, huh ? 🙂
But I admit I was frustrated when I watched the episode because I so wanted the boys to win. I don’t know, it isn’t like I dislike Suzy but she isn’t that entertaining in the show so it is a little bit disappointing but if I compare to Sulli and the previous episodes, she is much better (although guesting with football players stars wasn’t a good idea airtime wise :D)

I really loved the theme of the ghosts and all and I thought that the story made sense 🙂 I have never thought I would be that scared though XD. Much more than the zombie one. They really did it well but more than the story, how the cast reacts is truly hilarious and amazing and this is what makes RM so special. I was almost dead when the “you die if you get uglier” rule came …. XD.

Thanks for the recap and good job as usual. Although I am a fan of Tiger/Giraffe couple, I do admit it is getting a little bit tiring how they fake to fight. But it isn’t that big in the episode so I don’t really mind <3

can anybody tell me what is the background song﻿ played from 28:50 until 30:08 in ep 155 when﻿ they were listening to the mission given by the PD about the letter they wrote for the future reunion? thanks.. =))

The episode was pretty slow in the beginning. It wasn’t surprising that Suzy was one of the ghosts. Based on the previews, I thought the episode would be better/scarier. It’s too bad JS and Gary didn’t plan things better because I thought they would have won against the girls. It must be part of the script when the boys actually fall for JH’s damsel in distress act because I’ve seen her take on anything like the girl has no fear jumping off buildings and taking on bigger guest and etc.

What a great episode! With the past few being so good, it (almost) makes up for how lame some of the episodes before Park Ji-sung were! Great references to some awesome Korean films, too! Whispering Corridors, and was the mailbox the same as the one from Il Mare? I’ll have to go back and check now.

I agree with most posters here about the great moments of this episode, with Ji-hyo’s slap to Kwang-soo being the best.

Very clever that the girls were ghosts from the start with nobody realizing (Ji-hyo’s question was ignored).

And yes, Suzy has really matured. All of the baby fat from Dream High is gone, and she looks like a lady now, not a teenager. She was a great guest, once she warmed up to everybody and got into the action.

I’m almost getting tired of seeing Jihyo win sometimes lol. I feel the running man buried themselves. Even if he’s not as big of a competitor, Gary should have have known not to help eliminate suk jin. And plus they should always know that the guest is going to be part of the seekers group. It happens every time, like the girl who was with Haha that one episode, and the Hyomin and the the other two girls. I don’t see how they can after all this time be oblivious to who the enemies are. I mean Suzy attacked Jae Suk twice lol. If I was in Running Man, I would go for the female guest 90% of the time hana. I think episodes like this show how running man post hide and seek games have really helped Jihyo out. She was always smart, but now all she has to is basically trick everybody. I think the members underestimate how much of a threat she is. Considering at this point she’s won a lot more games then others, I would consider not even thinking about taking Jong Kook out and aim for her first. She is needless to say the Titan of running man

I tend to think that Ji Hyo makes the job of defeating male opponents look easier than it is. However fast or clever you are, when it comes down to pulling a tag, size and strength really matters. A 110 pound non-athlete in a game with six or more 150 to 250 pound athletes can feel pretty helpless, regardless of gender.

I’ll note that, in Kvariety, not only are most of the male participants fit and healthy actors and performers, with all matter of physical skills and training all of them beyond a certain age have had two years of military service. They’ve been through a harsh conditioning regime and learned to kill people in various ways. That doesn’t leave you completely, even twenty years after discharge. Beyond the gender gap created by Confucian sexism, that discrepancy is going to matter in physical competition.

She technically doesn’t beat the male members, she lets them beat each other. A really good example is I think was ep 147 when they had some super powerful guests, and she waited for Jong kook to beat the last one and then came and ripped him. She hides around the sidelines for most of the game, and creates fake alliances and jumps to someone else to help her to stay alive. There’s very few times she’s actually ripped someone without help. Even in this episode all she had to do was get reactions out of certain members or rip off Yoo Jae Suk’s glasses. That’s why I think the newer episodes have benefitted her. She’s been more cunning then powerful. She wouldn’t have even won the episode with Kwangsoo Suk Jin and HaHa as a team if she didn’t have help. She’s like a puppet master lol, yet no one pays attention to her in that way. This episode wasn’t the first time she was undercover. I would suspect her of something every episode. She knows what she can and cannot do, so she plans it out. For me, she’s become the the best player since the hide and seek games have ended. And sometimes it’s frustrating for me because I want to see people like Kwangsoo suk Jin of even HaHa win because I like an underdog.

totally agree. This game was stacked against the guys from the start. And watching Ji Hyo, she’s one of the smartest (sparta has some moments too) and definitely one of the craftiest but I feel like most of her success comes from waiting for everyone else to do the dirty work. Some might say that’s a skill but realistically, if everyone tried to play like that, episodes would take forever to film. The PD’s have said in the past that they are experimenting with new rules all the time not only to have more competitive balance in games but to also force more action more quickly. Jong Kook is guilty of this too, a good example is the Gumiho race where Kim Sook calls him out for just watching for the right opportunity. I think he’s kind of gun shy about going all out in the beginning because the rest of the cast just gang up on him. Anyways, because of his sparta image, I don’t think people really notice it that much.

I agree, it’s been a while since I’ve seen him go all out, plus he has the injuries so that could be a reason. But I remember the ep with the survival race and they voted him and he destroyed everybody lol. The Sparta image has faded a little due to injury, but he’s still super tough and really smart. But I think the members overlook Ji Hyo too much since she’s not as strong or fast. The writers and PD I think give her roles like the ghost and Charlie during the Charlie’s angels ep because she’s outmatched. That’s why she should be a target even more than Kim Jong Kook sometimes. She’s tricked them numerous times, but they never seem to realize it lol. But yeah, she does rely on others to finish the job and like I said creating numerous fake alliances to keep herself alive. Some of it’s skill, some is just knowing to stay on the sidelines. Too me she’s more of a betrayer type than Kwangsoo, she’s just more discreet about it

27.1.1.1.2 Jlegend9July 27th, 2013 at 7:13 PM

But I mean, everybody does betray at some time or another, she’s no different. It’s just frustrating not seeing kwangsoo get a win or especially Ji Suk Jin. But I love Ji Hyo, she really is awesome

28 Quiet ThoughtJuly 27th, 2013 at 12:23 PM

Good fun with the logical puzzles on this one. If the men had been a little more aggressive on reading the clues, they could have spotted the female ghost couple sooner and it would have been a lot more difficult for Ji Hyo and Suzy to eliminate them. In the Charlie’s Angels episode, they were trapped by their own Confuscian sexism, assuming Charlie had to be male. In this episode, although the editing was not up to scratch, I expect that they were, to the end, assuming that the “destined couple” was male-female.

In past episodes where the puzzle involves unmasking a spy, the PD is usually careful to leave an accessible path for the people being spied upon. In Ep 125, for example, Choi Ji Woo was the victim of the entire cast conspiring against her, but if she had removed even one of their name-tags herself, she would have known about the conspiracy. The same was true of the Charlie’s Angels episode. If any of the men had taken out one of the women, the plot would have been exposed.

I don’t particularly think they felt all the way the it had to be male female. Even Kwangsoo and suk Jin and haha and Jong kook and HaHa and Yoo Jae suk tried it. I just don’t get why after all this time they didn’t expect at least Suzy to be an enemy. Running man does this all the time to give the girls and edge. And I mean, the female guest usually is the spy/undercover opponent

Would it be wicked to point out that Suzy’s acting improved a lot in this variety appearance? She certainly had a better director than in ‘Gu Family Chronicles’, and her enthusiasm over playing a ghost seems to have helped a lot.

Mmmmm I’m not saying this episode is entirely scripted but at some parts it did feel that way. Well the guys were all immersed in ensuring they did not fall victim to the curses and the concept of having ghost sisters really didn’t occur to them.

I love Ji Hyo too and I think if everyone watches the show more carefully, you’ll see just how much sharper she is, compared to maybe Gary or Gwang Soo. I’ve expressed how stupid JSJ can be (like the ep when he either under or over did his duck walk just because he didn’t count properly).

Ji Hyo is very very sharp. Even when she was out in episode 43 (IU found the name tag stickers on the soles of the citizens), sitting by the side where the jail was, you can see her eyes scanning the field. And I emphasise, this was AFTER SHE WAS OUT OF THE GAME. That’s why she wins many games (more than the rest actually) – because she is SHARP. We have seen Gary (who is physically, definitely much more capable) screw up many times simply because he wasn’t as alert as he should be (the same IU/ Bong Sun ep… and the Haha/ Suzy ep where he walked past so many hiding areas where the couples were without checking them properly). Even in the earlier Hide and Seek missions, when Ji Hyo was mostly placed in mission teams (for good reason), she was the one who made such a great difference by being very on task in the mission. Remember the ep when Nickhun and Taecyon were chasing them? She was SICK but found so many Little Prince outfits on her very own while the others goofed around. Even though she was coughing and sniffling, she remained as sharp as she could be. How about the ep when the mission team was to find receipts were supposed to add up to a certain amount before the chasing team caught them all? Yeah JI Hyo discovered almost every receipt except for one or two, again on her own.

She’s displayed a lot of crediblity for the past few years, even if for some instances, she’s had much less screen time than others/ the guests. Even KJK has mentioned how amazing she is, with reference to her taking the bungee jump plunge with nary the flutter of an eyelid.

Song Ji Hyo was made a permanent member of Running Man for good reason. And what she’s done all this while is simply to show that she’s not about to let others gain the advantage just because she’s the only female member on the cast.

* forgot to include how in the example I was mentioning, that she scanning the field and identifying IU from a great distance away.

And well in this ghost sister episode, the way she discovered KJK’s item by going through every single small item so meticulously. Just proves my point.

And since I’m adding examples, remember how she gained the upper hand of the name tag ripping game during the Student episode where she took out both Jae Suk and the Game master’s name tags, to the great astonishment of her opponents. In instances where she needs to be physically aggressive, she has frequently displayed her strength, so it’s not entirely fair to say she only uses her cunning (which I agree is an important aspect of how the game is played anyway). While KJK won many games with his tremendous physical prowess, SJH has also, like him, combined her abilities well in order to gain the upper hand in many episodes, much more so than some of the others.

Ji Hyo is pretty amazing, I don’t think anyone doubts that. Seriously, she’s got like Gorilla balls or something. But what I think turns a lot of people off is that Running Man feels very fake, particularly when she wins. In this latest ghost episode, look at how many clues she and suzy get before the guys get any. The timeline is a bit confusing because of the editing but as far as I can determine, it is at least three, possibly four. So she and Suzy are starting the game three steps ahead of the other Running Men. And they got a book that matched each curse with a person, while the male members all had to assume each curse applied to them. With all those advantages, it would be much more surprising if she lost. When she won, my reaction was “of course she won, that game was stacked in her favor.”

Going back, the China special, she got the only robe to blend in. That was a huge part in her victory. In your example of the receipt game, she was caught by Jong Kook and he let her go. I think that’s what bothers people. She often times gets some advantage and when she wins it doesn’t resonate because that was the expected outcome. And when she doesn’t start with an advantage, she doesn’t do much to win so much as let the other members lose. How many times has she let Jong Kook take out someone and then immediately take his off? Just emotionally, it helps as a viewer when you see someone overcome an obstacle and win–everyone loves a cinderella/underdog winning. When the top dog wins, well, that was supposed to happen.

I think it’s that dichotomy between her title as “Ace” and the way she wins that bothers people. A true “Ace” wins a game. Ji Hyo plays pretty passively, playing not to lose. It just doesn’t match properly. Running Man has a lot of these little flaws. Gwang Soo, for example, should be pretty good at name tag ripping. He’s strong (even Jong Kook said in an interview that he’s just as ripped as he is) and has really long arms. In the episode where Haha won, look at how he and Jong Kook team up and destroy him. But when he’s alone, Gwang Soo still plays like he’s part of the jail trio. The summer vacation special with Jung Woo Sung is a good example. He just lets himself get baited into a really bad position. EVERYONE saw that coming. And when he did it, everyone knew what was going to happen. Ji Hyo is the same way. Watching her interact with the male members, we all know she’s manipulating them. And they still fall for it every time. And somehow we’re supposed to believe they are all trying hard and yet she can pull the wool over their eyes for three years without any of them catching on? Yeah, not really believable.

This isn’t to say that Ji Hyo is doing something wrong. I mean, why not pick the low hanging fruit. If it’s there, take it. But as a viewer, it is very unsatisfying to watch what seems like a conspiracy to let her win unfold. A total comedy of errors.

Fool me once shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Running Man members are always getting fooled by Ji Hyo and its getting tiring watching the same tricks being pulled over and over again. You could say the same thing about the Kwang Soo-Jong Kook beatings and the Jong Kook-Jae Suk talk rivalry.

I hope the PD’s sort it all out. Running Man kind of cycles through these series where it gets repetitive and then they think of some new wrinkle that they repeat over and over until its no longer funny…like that spiky yoga mat. Just have to patiently wait until they come up with something new and original.

I agree with that you say about Jihyo. I don’t however understand why people get so frustrated with the Kwangsoo Jong kook thing. From the posts I’ve seen here I think people are being a little over dramatic saying “I can’t stand how kwangsoo blah blah blah” it’s variety. And I’ve never had a problem with the Jae suk and Jong kook rivalry I’ve always liked it. I think this episode was kind of slow but the other recent ones have been good. I love most of the recent running mans unlike some people who may think its lost some of its luster. At times it does seem that they focus too much on a story then the actuall game but that’s not ever episodes. Episodes like this are just specials. I hope though the pd’s switch things up because I’m afraid some people are finding running man a but more boring now, and if people like the show less, I’m afraid the show may come closer to an end. But maybe for some people it’s just hit a dry spot. All great shows do

Your analysis is very detailed showing you are truly a hardcore RM fan. I am a little biased towards Song Ji-Hyo so my opinion could be expected to be different from yours. I see that in RM the victory does not often belong to the strongest or the smartest or the funniest or anything. A lot of times luck plays but we still analyse it over and over because after all we are fans of RM. Take an example Haha (Ha Dong-Hoon). He is no doubt currently the weakest and the most timid member of RM and yet his victory count is still quite impressive compared to Kim Jong-Kook. Some will blame it on his betrayal but I shall attribute it to luck. We cannot always control who shall win even after all probabilistic analysis. Of course I agree that some episodes feel more scripted/staged than the rest but still a lot of RM episodes are I believe genuine.

Hmmmm I do agree with a few points, and I can actually see when she plays passively – there were a number of episodes when I had to ask – where the hell is Ji Hyo ESPECIALLY in female guesting eps. However I do still stand in my belief that she can play the games pretty aggressively when she wants to/ is allowed to. She knows in terms of physical strength, she needs to gain an advantage after more of the men have been taken out – if not, she may end up like JSJ getting taken out first in every episode with individual battles. When it comes to team games, you can’t deny that she does put in her all, based on the few examples (and there’re definitely more) I stated above.

I think this episode is average initially when I watch the show without sub.. But I like it after I watch the second time with sub. Still there were many advantages for the Gosts. Nonetheless, a great effort was put in this episode.
Classic moments:
1) Gary pulled the chair away from Kwangsoo (kind of dangerous but funny)
2) the self exclaimed class president -Girin Kwang Soo ( being bullied)
3) Kim Jong Kook and Yoo Jae suk leaders bickering (cute and funny)
4) ‘Sparta’ moment during the arm wrestling (obviously, that is staged for Jong kook to win but nice to see Spartakook in action ) * envy Suzy
5) Spartace moment with the backhug ( melt!) omg are the two more than brother/sister relationship or is it Jong kook survival instinct??
6) Jong Kook figure out Kwangsoo item and proved hard to catch.. (This guy is brilliant and smart)
7) Haha say to the camera he feel scared and he feel more so when suk Jin hyung is not out yet.
8) Suk Jin wits – I Finally graduated after 20 years! Lol
9) Gary and Kwangsoo worried about looking uglier (seriously, Gary is pleasant looking, ha)
10) easy brothers moments
11) the new rules and the discovery of the school book with the guests as their classmates.
12) this episode should be scary with all the ‘blood’ and curse but I dun feel scared at all.
13) the running man reactions when they know the curse does not occur to them

Dislike moments:
1) I can’t decide is this a funny one or I dislike it because Ji Hyo really hit Kwang Soo head too hard.. It was funny and surprising but it hurts! Although Ji Hyo apologize but she is REALLY competitive and aggressive. RM better be careful.

2) KwangSoo hit Jong Kook knee. I agree that is too repetitive and predictable. They were close behind the scene so just show that. He can replace Haha place now that he is a father.

3) I know it is creative to set the gals vs boys theme but I somehow wish that the destined pair is the easy brothers. It will be funny how to plan to eliminate everyone.

4) it is logical to eliminate Spartakook fist since he is more of a threat then anyone. but he was eliminated too fast and the competitiveness drop by half. Sadly he was eliminated first. Then It begin to be more obvious that the girls were the culprits. As always, Ji Hyo will plot the game and is the mastermind behind those spy theme

5) Gary is so cute but he need to brush up on his strategies (quick thinking skills) rival Ji Hyo who is all smart and cunning.

6) Jae Suk almost make it but failed and even showed his ‘ugly face’. Wish the guys win though.

For a guest to be entertaining they either need to be good at the games which makes it a strong competition or they need to be really bad at the games so that we can laugh at their misfortune (like the easy brothers).

What makes for a boring guest episode is when the guest is obviously bad at the games but the PDs and cast cheat so that the guest wins anyway.

This episode was obviously rigged in favor of Suzy and Jiho but I still thought it was interesting because Suzy was very clever and competitive and Jiho is always an ace. The ghost theme is another version of the spy themes which can be fun because one person tries to take down the rest of the cast.

RM is my first foray into Korean variety, stemmed from curiosity as everyone plus their grandmas around me seem to watch and love this. I watch the episodes in random order and I haven’t watched all due to time constraint so there are some questions I hope fellow readers would clarify.

1. How much of this show is scripted?
Sometimes I think they seem to know exactly where to find the clues. Once or twice, alright, but finding a clue card/item in every random poke? Then they always somehow figure out the right answers/directions for the missions, even the most cryptic ones? It’s like a string of contrived coincidences.
To be fair, they have a lot of experiences playing games every week it’s a 1-2 days of filming condensed into 1-2 hours so they must have edited out most of the searching, but it does make me wonder. Is Kwangsoo really that unlucky? Why was JongKook’s soccer skills went from relatively good in Dream Cup 2012 to humorously terrible by the time Dream Cup 2013’s episode came?

2. Why and when was the Monday Couple broght back? I thought they were done for. No offense, I like them too, but it just seems weird.

3. Do the PDs really test each and every game? It’d be nice for them to include behind-the-scenes because some games are downright insane ;p

4. Opinion time! As I said, watching the show in random order helps me thinking everything is fresh, but I’ve seen a lot of people voicing concern over the show’s supposed degrading quality. Which part is getting too predictable to you?

In my eyes Kwangsoo never truly hit Jongkook, or anybody. The soundeffect of hitting and camera angle do could manipulated our mind. But if we try to stop hearing and see more attentively, we could see there’s no force AT ALL in Kwangsoo blow. He never deliberately hurt anyone. It just act. Like how action movie actors never actually beat each other. Sure, this kind of act could get old fast, but that the show’s fault that demand that kind of relationship between those two. But please don’t think its because Kwangsoo have no respect nor care for repeatedly hitting an injured senior. Kwangsoo is very respectful and caring person.

can anyone tell me, what is the background song Easy Brothers find another mirror with new items. That only establishes yet another rule: If someone becomes unattractive, they will die. Kwang-soo gapes: “What about Gary?!”

I freaking love this episode! It definitely sent chills up my spine. *spooky* It has been quite a while since the last Running Man episode that had me anticipating and getting all nervous but this episode totally killed me! I also loved how this episode didn’t turn out to be a typical couple race because Jihyo can finally get the attention if you know what I mean…our ace!<3